Regina v Kopuria [2010] SBHC 4; HCSI-CRC 155 of 2008 (22 February 2010)

HIGH COURT OF SOLOMON ISLANDS

Criminal Case No. 155 of 2008

REGINA

V

PETER NGAOKAVE KOPURIA

Date of Hearing: 15th February 2008
Date of Judgment/Sentence: 22nd February 2010

Mr. Seuika for the Crown
Mr. Hou for the Accused

JUDGMENT/SENTENCE

Mwanesalua, J

The accused is Peter Ngaokave Kopuria (kopuria) was charged with unlawfully causing the death of Albert Chiba, the deceased, on 13th January 2008 at Cholala village at Visale. I entered a guilty plea on his own plea and convicted him accordingly.

Facts

Kopuria was thirty years of age in 2008. On 13th January 2008 the deceased, went drinking with some of his relatives at Visale Station. At about 4pm he intended to assist one of his friends to the main road to wait for his brother to take him home. That brother approached and told them that he was going to drop some one at the end of the village and come back for them. After a while the deceased could not wait any longer and decided to stop any vehicle to drop his friend. He went over to the middle of the road to stop a vehicle that was approaching. He extended both his arms indicating to the driver of the vehicle to stop. Kopuria was the driver of the vehicle and he stopped in front of the deceased. The deceased came over to Kopuria on the driver’s seat and talked to him. He told Kopuria that a man called Elijah was too drunk and needed to be transported for his safety. While the deceased was talking to Kopuria, he leaned to the side of the vehicle, and punched the side of the rear view mirror of the vehicle. The mirror broke into pieces. Kopuria was angry, exited his vehicle and confronted the deceased. He grabbed the deceased by the neck and punched his face with his right fist. Kopuria then throw the deceased on the ground. While the deceased was lying on the ground, Kopuria kicked him two times with his right bare foot on his right lower abdomen. Further, while the deceased was lying on the ground after the assault, Kopuria took a piece of the broken glass and cut the deceased’s right thigh which inflicted a big wound which required seven stitches. Some of the on lookers stopped Kopuria from further assaulting the deceased. They took the deceased to a nearby clinic for treatment. The deceased received treatment from the first aid nurse and was sent home. In the evening of the same day, the deceased was taken back to Visale Clinic after experiencing continuous pain. At the clinic the first-aid nurse pronounced the deceased dead. His body was buried but later exhumed twenty four days after his death. The autopsy revealed no recent or old fractures of the ribs. The cause of death was probably raptured spleen.

Kicks causing injuries leading to death

Having stated the facts, the court will now consider the sentence to be passed on the accused. The court will refer to five cases from a list of manslaughter authorities cited by Counsel for the accused. In R v. Tiva HC CRC No. 3 of 1978, the accused was sentenced to nine months imprisonment; In R v. Garanu HC CRC No. 23 of 1986, the accused punched the deceased to fall and strike his head on the ground and kicked him two times on the head. These blows contributed to, and cumulatively caused, the deceased’s death by jotting his brain. The accused was sentenced to three years imprisonment; In R v. Kaimani HC CRC No. 3 of 1997, the accused kicked the deceased on the face which caused him to fall back and hit the back of his head against a cement floor. The deceased died from the head injuries he sustained as a direct result of the unlawful kick to his face. The accused was sentenced to three and half years imprisonment. In R v. Pasirivo HC CRC No. 114 of 2004, the accused punched the deceased twice and kicked the deceased twice. The deceased died from these blows. The accused was sentenced to three years imprisonment. And in R v. Enilobe HC CRC No. 602 of 2005, the accused kicked his wife once on her side after a domestic argument. She sustained injury to her spleen from which she died. The accused was sentenced to three years imprisonment.

Sentence

The accused in this case kicked the deceased twice on the lower abdomen. He applied these kicks to this vulnerable part of the body after he punched the deceased on the face and throw him to the ground. He did this because the deceased provoked him by breaking the mirror of his vehicle by hitting it. He was angry about that and retaliated. He kicked the deceased at the spur of the moment. His father is a blood sister of the mother of the deceased. He will now live with that unpleasant memory. The accused had paid cash compensation of $30,000.00 to the relatives of the deceased. In addition, he contributed goods for the "Chupu" also paid to the relatives of the deceased. The total compensation was worth $67,995.60. The accused has pleaded guilty to the offence of manslaughter which carries a sentence of life imprisonment. But Section 24 (2) of the Penal Code (cap. 28) allows the court to impose a shorter term of custodial sentence for this offence. The court will take the following mitigating factors in favour of the accused. That he is of previous good character. He has a previous clean record with the police. There was no planning involved in his offence. He has pleaded guilty which advances public interest, in that it has saved considerable time and expense in running a trial. There was delay of more than two years between his arrest and trial. That delay is not attributable to the fault of the accused. And that he has paid substantial compensation to the relatives of the deceased. That has settled ill-feelings, normalized severed relationships and restored peace and harmony between the relatives of the deceased and the accused. Taking these factors into account, the minimum sentence which the court can pass on the accused is two years imprisonment. As the accused has already been in custody for more than the term of this sentence, he is to be released from prison at the rising of the court. That is today, 22nd of February 2010. Order accordingly.

THE COURT